Heart Start

Recently I read an article online about defibrillators and their true use. The article was titled: “Monday’s medical myth: flatlining patients can be shocked back to life”. Interesting to say the least! I learned that once someone ‘flatlines’ they do not come back with the aid of a defibrillator. Adrenaline can be injected, but this is also a rare case. The tissue, in most cases, is damaged beyond repair. That pretty much ruined all of my medical shows in one article; so I felt it necessary to ruin them for you as well. 

Everything seems to begin and end with the heart. Too often I have had the privilege and necessary burden, of being in the room with a family as their loved one has been removed from life support. In the waiting, singing, and praying, their seems to be those last moments where everything is off, but the heart is still pumping. It is in this moment you see how the heart is both powerful and frail. It eventually gives out, thereby shutting down the rest of the systems. It is a heartbreaking time, but brings a leveled sense of finality. Conversely, it becomes ‘real’ for expecting parents when that monitor passes over just the right spot and you hear that heartbeat for the first time. Nothing can describe that moment. Life that began some time before, is now very present in your ears, with the rhythmic sound of ‘thump’ ‘thump’ ‘thump’ on the speaker. 

Everything seems to start and end with the heart. 

Spiritually it’s also so. In religion, everything starts with your actions. In a relationship, everything begins with the heart. Jesus started with the heart… each and every time. In Matthew 22, when He was speaking on the First and Great Commandment, He started with “all your heart…”

There are several perplexing things Jesus mentioned in the New Testament. These statements, commands, and discussions are initially perplexing to us, due to the fact we rarely start with the heart. Add to that the fact we (in America) focus our attention on the actions and tasks first, and Jesus doesn’t. So His commands seem counterintuitive. They are intentionally that way. You see, we are human and in need of something different than what we already know and try. He provides that by way of truth. He gave us intentional perplexities and conundrums, designed to turn us to spiritual answers and a kingdom not of this world. It’s by His design, to covert our heart to the heavenly rather than the earthly. To covert our heart to the eternal rather than the temporal. To covert our heart to the spiritual rather than the carnal. To convert our heart to the supernatural rather than the natural. 

One of the most perplexing statements made by Christ is found in Luke 6.45. Here He focuses us on the conundrum and perplexity within our own heart. He nails it right off the bat. He’s demanding an answer that requires us to think spiritually, heavenly, eternal and supernatural. “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” (Luke 6.45) 

Jesus knew something we must know now— The words of our mouth come from our heart. If you want to control your mouth, you do it by controlling what your heart is fixed on. 

In other words, we start with the heart. To do so, we must diagnose what’s happening in the heart we cannot see or hear, by the mouth we can both hear and see. So we must ask the question— What do I have coming out of my mouth? What does that say about my heart? 

Let’s take an example— People that constantly talk down to others obviously have a haughty heart. You may be saying, I don’t want that kind of heart. Good for you. You are on the right track then. Maybe you’re saying, What if you have both? If you speak good and evil, that sets us up with the conundrum Jesus mentions before— your heart seems good and evil.

In the same passage Jesus says in verses 9 and 10– “Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.” What’s that all about? Why in the world is the salty and sweet coming out of the same source? We all know we are to speak only that which lifts up.  Ephesians 4.29 says— “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” In fact, Solomon tells us that what we say will come back on us in Proverbs 18.21— “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” Ever heard the phrase, ‘you’re going to eat your words’? Well, there it is. 

Each of these verses speak of Death and Life. We have the power of both. The question is again— How is your heart? I would suggest a look into one simple word. One which could explain most of this. The word is: Carnal. It is the flesh, with all of its death and oldness. It is a conquered foe, but refuses to let go. Paul said it was his “old man”. It just lingers, doesn’t it? When we speak evil (“evil speaking”) we are simply demonstrating the carnality that we have allowed to infect our heart. It’s flesh-speak. It’s not of God and it’s from the sensual wisdom of this world. 

There are many passages that explain what we can do to remedy this. First and foremost, ask God to help. Ask Him to help clear out the oldness with it’s dead-speak and replace it with newness and life-speak. Secondly, follow the example of King David in Psalm 34.1— “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Praise Him constantly. The more we speak to God and have a continual dialogue of gratefulness and praise to Him, the more we reflect it in our heart. Third, stay away from people who death-speak. They are a plague to your heart, you just don’t know it yet. They are not your friend if they are constantly bringing you down. Wake up! Are they bringing you and your needs to Jesus? Are they pointing you and your heart to the cross? Are they praising along side of you? Are they seeking to life-speak more? Think about it. If your heart is continually on Jesus you would have a much harder time talking or thinking evil of others.

Way too many believers seem beyond repair. Their hearts almost always say the dead thing rather than the life-giving thing. Unlike a defibrillator, Jesus can restart, restore, resurrect, and remake any heart. He can do so in any condition, at any time.

How’s your heart? Need a restart?